The Review
It all started a few months ago when Amazon had announced a price drop on its beloved reading machine, the Kindle 2, to $299. It’s at that moment that I decided: I NEED one!! I went ahead and ordered it only to find out that the case it comes with actually breaks/cracks the Kindle’s cover after prolonged use. Good thing I read several reviews saying that before I put my beautiful new Kindle 2 into the carry case. I promptly returned the carry case of course and got a refund.
Convenience was my motivation:
So what is the big deal with Kindle you might ask..? If you’re anything like me and you travel a bit or are somewhat indecisive then the Kindle is PERFECT for you. My problem with physical books was this: I could never really quite make up my mind which book I wanted to read when going to the coffee shop or traveling to another city. I would just bring several books with me since I couldn’t make up my damn mind. Unfortunately my back paid the price as I tugged 2 or 3 good size books along with all my other stuff to where ever I was going. So the Kindle was and is a perfect solution. Nearly perfect anyway. I bought the second generation just over a month ago and must say that my back is doing much better now. Now when I travel I don’t have to decide which book or books to take. I can take them all..!! It’s just a relief for me I can’t even describe it. Kindle 2 is almost small enough to fit in an over sized pocket. It’s about as slimmer than the iPhone as far as I can tell and it’s about as light as a 400 page paperback.
You can see Amazon’s Kindle 2 here:
The reading experience..?
I have to say I find it very comfortable for the eyes even on the beach on a really sunny day. It’s just like reading a real book. For reference material it falls a little short if only b/c with reference books I like to flip around from page to page. You can’t really do that on the Kindle, not like with a real book anyway. No matter, it’s a fair trade for the convenience of it all. I’ve already read about 5 books and counting on it. It feels a fairly solid in the hands but I wouldn’t want to drop it. I’m not sure it can take the same beatings my iPhone has.
Kindle is free..?
I also might add that the books you buy from Amazon through Kindle are usually 30% or more discounted. Everybody wins b/c Amazon doesn’t have to print it and ship it or physically store it. That translates into a cost savings for them which in turn they pass onto you. So I know this thing will eventually pay for itself in savings alone. So in other words: Kindle is basically FREE..! Yeah that’s right.. I order books on a regular basis from Amazon. Usually at 20-30 dollar price tags. On Kindle the drop down to 10-15 dollar price tags. Over time that saves me mucho deniro..! Ohhh and they’re instantly delivered to my device in under a minute.. How’s the for convenience.
The UI and Interface..?
It has a little ways to go but I don’t care. It’s perfectly suitable for my needs. It’s replacing my paper books not my iPhone or TV. It’s simple and easy to navigate and pretty intuitive. Kindle just knows how to stay out of your way when reading a book. Did I mention you need a night light to read it in the dark..? Yes unfortunately you do.. but this is what I would need for a regular book anyways so it’s not a deal breaker for me. I’m sure future versions of Kindle will have a built in light.
Battery Life:
It just keeps going and going and going…. I usually turn off the 3G connection when I’m not looking for new books on Amazon’s store browser. I can go for about 2-3 weeks without a single charge. I actually have yet to drain the battery completely and this thing has gotten lots of use..
